Dhammapada verse 237
Chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga) · verses 235–255
“You’ve journeyed the stages of life, and now you set out to meet Yama. Along the way there’s nowhere to stay, yet you have no supplies for the road.”
Upanītavayo ca dānisi, Sampayātosi yamassa santikaṁ; Vāso te natthi antarā, Pātheyyampi ca te na vijjati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 237 mean?
Verse 237 belongs to chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga), which gathers verses 235–255 on stains and their removal. It is filed under no theme. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 236 and verse 238 are part of the same passage.
Twenty-one verses on stains — the defilements as dirt on a surface that can be cleaned. The chapter lists the specific stains it means, including hardness, carelessness, deceit and jealousy, and it treats purity not as innocence but as the result of scrubbing.